First up, a quick apology if the images are not properly uploaded! I am on a mobile connection and the reception isn't the best... so, I'm not totally sure if the iamges went into the sky properly, or got stuck somewhere! I guess that is something that I'm going to find out when I hit that publish button!

Anyway, this month sees a quick batch of three Coinlist crowdsales in the next couple of weeks. Like all the recent Coinlist crowdsales, there is no guarantee that you will be able to secure a purchase spot... but who knows, you might be lucky to get in early on a vetted project!

In a few days, there is a crowdsale for the Swarm project. Sigh, I guess we have reached a point in the crypto history where old names are starting to pop up again... I am sure that the SWARM ticker had already been claimed a few years back by another project called Swarm... I can't remember what happened to that one, I read about it in passing, but wasn't that interested!

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that this SWARM project has nothing to do with the other Swarm project, so just to get that out of the way fast! Plus, they had to choose a different ticker as well, going with BZZ. This does lead me to start thinking, with tickers being unregulated and most people being unable or unwilling to do a basic verify contract address on a block explorer, I do wonder how long it will be before duplicate tickers scam enough people for it to be a real problem!

I did help out someone in the last couple of months who managed to buy some really cheap LINK, and then was surprised when Binance didn't accept the deposit of the "Link" tokens. A simple look at the block explorer revealed that they had bought fake Link tokens with a different contract address that was held by only 10 people... hmmm, stay safe people, there are NO flash 90% off deals that are just special for you and only you....

Anyway, back on track. Swarm is an attempt to create a decentralised and private database/information storage for dApps to access and use as their backbone. Hmmmm... I feel like I have already read this pitch already with SiaCoin, FileCoin and various other similar projects... so, what sets this one apart? Well... I guess the easiest way to answer that, is nothing or at best, not much... other than the fact that there is no single dominant solution in this space and that it is possible for any one or combination of projects to achieve dominance at this time! Plus, it doesn't hurt to have VC seed funding behind you!

So, I would have to say that SWARM is a project that solves a problem that I do think needs fixing, but it isn't the only project in the field that is trying to create a solution. So, for me... it isn't really a huge interest project from my personal point of view, but definitely worth hedging on if I have the chance to get a purchase spot! As I said before, there are many projects trying to become the information storage infrastructure for the decentralised web, but there isn't a clear winner yet! So, hedge hedge hedge!

The project has really gone all-in with the Beehive analogy... it's cute, but I would rather that projects don't do this! Book of Swarm??? really.... I would just prefer a whitepaper, and not something that feels like it has come out from a Starcraft Zerg faction!

There are two options that are on offer, but in practice I think it will only be the one. The second round will only go forward if there are leftover tokens from the first round, and I don't see that that is likely!

The usual lockup rules apply over the course of the post-purchase distribution. I'm not really fussed about lockup times, I'm in for the long haul anyway! These early crowdsales are a place to park a little bit of stablecoins and see what happens in 6-24 months, I've written off the money that I put in here anyway... so, if the manage to at least pay off the initial capital investment, I am more than happy. Of course, if they do better... I'm a little bit happier!

Something that is of a bit of interest is the relatively high crowdsale price! Nearly 2 dollars is definitely something that is on the high end of IEO launch prices, and I would be a bit wary that early investors and the project itself are going to take the opportunity to take profit at these prices when the token gets listed. I should check out their lockup periods...

So, these are the friendly VC and early investors who will be dumping on you! At around 20 cents purchase price, the IEO is starting at roughly 10 times what they had paid... that isn't a great look! Still, I'm happy to write off some stablecoins on long shots just to see what pans out, and just to have a ticket for the ride... either to the ground or to the moon! One way or the other, I'm not too fussed!

Handy Crypto Tools

Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
Kucoin: My second choice in exchanges, many tokens listed here that you can't get on Binance!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.